One way is to penetrate the host’s skin directly through the feet or belly or whatever part of the skin is touching the ground. The larva can infect its new host in several ways.
Hookworm larvae can be swallowed when the dog The egg hatches in the environment and develops from a first stage larva (the hatchling) to a second stage larva and finally a third stage larva which is ready to infect a new host. (Photo Credit: CDC Division of Parasitic Disease Image Library) (Photo Credit: CDC Public Health Image Library) Hookworms attached to the intestinal lining Hookworm eggs are released into the intestinal contents and passed into the world mixed in with the host’s stool. The adult worm lives and mates within the host’s intestine and ultimately, the female worm produces eggs.
This means that, like other parasitic worms, they are bathed in intestinal contents but while other worms share the host's food by absorbing it directly through their skin, hookworms feed by drinking their host's blood. The adult hookworm lives in the small intestine of its host where it hangs on to the intestinal wall using its 6 sharp teeth. Hookworms can be transmitted to nursing pups.īefore elaborating on these important aspects of hookworm infection, it is important to understand the life cycle of the hookworm, encompassing how infection happens, how the parasite lives, etc.Hookworms (particularly Ancylostoma caninum) suck blood.
Hookworm infection has several features that are of interest to the caretakers of dogs: Hookworms ( Ancylostoma caninum, Ancylostoma braziliense, Uncinaria stenocephala) are one of the classical groups internal parasites of puppies, the others being roundworms, tapeworms, and coccidia.